This invention relates to formulations for cleaning hard surfaces which consist of lauryl-based betaines, glycosides, fatty alcohol (ether) sulfates and optionally other surfactants. The invention also relates to the use of lauryl aminobetaines or lauric acid amidoalkylbetaines as sole betaine components for the production of formulations for cleaning hard surfaces.
Consumers expect formulations for cleaning hard surfaces, such as dishwashing detergents or multipurpose cleaners for example, to meet a number of requirements. Thus, the formulations must of course have adequate cleaning power, must foam even in hard water and in the presence of oils, must show sufficiently high viscosity so that they are easy to dispense in measured quantities and do not immediately flow off vertical surfaces and, finally, must be particularly compatible with the skin despite the pronounced detergent properties required.
Formulations designed for these tasks often contain combinations of alkyl glucosides and fatty alcohol ether sulfates, optionally in admixture with amphoteric surfactants of the betaine type. For example, International patent application WO 94/09102 (Henkel) describes aqueous surfactant concentrates containing 5 to 20% by weight of alkyl glucosides, 25 to 40% by weight of fatty alcohol sulfates, 35 to 65% by weight of fatty alcohol ether sulfates and 5 to 20% by weight of amphoteric surfactants derived from fatty amines or fatty acid amidoamines with a C chain distribution of 6 to 22. Dishwashing detergents containing these substances are also known from International patent application WO 91/11506 (Henkel). H. Leidreiter and U. Maczkiewitz report on synergistic effects between alkyl glucosides, betaines and ether sulfates in SOFW-Journal 122,674(1996).
Nevertheless, there is a constant market demand for formulations which exhibit improved performance properties in relation to the prior art. The problem addressed by the present invention was to provide such formulations.